Occupational wellness, one of the eight aspects of wellness, is about enjoying your occupational endeavors and feeling like you are making a difference and contributing.

Sometimes, however, occupational endeavors seem to be more about making a living and putting food on the table. There are times when enjoying our jobs and doing it just to have an income seem to collide.

If you don’t enjoy your current job, there are things you can do to help. You can try to find something that better suits you. To do that you have to know what suits you. You do have to take some time to get to know yourself and what you do and do not prefer. HINT: It takes time. Do what you can now, do the best you can where you are, be consistent and don’t give up. Your time will come.

Check Your Attitude

Sometimes simply changing our attitude about our own circumstances and position in our current jobs makes a big difference. Here are some tips to help you come up with ideas to make your current job more enjoyable:

Get motivated to face the day to day. Do some positive self-talk. It’s okay.

Keep your work in perspective. Do the best you can in your current situation, keeping the bigger picture in mind.

Remember you are more than your work. You are not your job and your job is not you. It’s what you do.

Make a Change

If you are looking for a different occupational opportunity, take your time, do your research and stay employed while you do that. Side hustles (aka moonlighting) are as popular now as ever.

When you look for something to earn extra money, keep in mind that it will take time, energy and organization to pull this off. You can do it, but have a plan. Do research to fully understand what is involved. Think about:

How much time will be involved?

What is the learning curve?

What kind of training does it provide?

Is it a solid company?

Will you work from home?

Mainly, be persistent and consistent in your efforts. Don’t let things easily discourage you. There are aspects about every job, every side hustle – every day life, that are not necessarily fun. Get through it with a smile.

Martha is owner of RobardsHealthyLifestyles.com, a health and wellness website that promotes healthy lifestyles, ideas and products for physical, mental and emotional, financial and natural/spiritual wellness. Martha’s work consists of opening shopping accounts for an on-line wellness company (think Costco meets Amazon), presenting, speaking, mentoring and coaching and people building. You can reach Martha at 505-750-7847, by email at marthapmintl@gmail.com, on Facebook, here on LinkedIn, Twitter, or through her websites at RobardsHealthyLifestyles.com, here, here, or ProfessionalMentorsInternational.com. She’s not hard to find. For those in the Phoenix area, the next workshop will be on the topic of How To Make Your Home Non-toxic, February 20, 2018.

If you are working healthy lifestyles in your ‘work from the luxury of your own home’ business, you can combine healthy business principles as well. The idea of scarcity can be healthy — if we act on it.

This has to do with health and wellness in many ways. It can be considered positive peer pressure, a good influence, if it’s a good thing we are copying. It can help us feel part of something bigger than ourselves. It can help us adopt positive habits and ways, such as eating healthy.

“Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree.

‘What are you doing?’ you ask.
‘Can’t you see?’ comes the impatient reply. ‘I’m sawing down this tree.’
‘You look exhausted!’ you exclaim. ‘How long have you been at it?’
‘Over five hours,’ he returns, ‘and I’m beat! This is hard work.’
‘Well, why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw?’ you inquire. ‘I’m sure it would go a lot faster.’
‘I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,’ the man says emphatically. ‘I’m too busy sawing!’”

Taken from ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen R. Covey

Over the last decade or so, the terms teamwork, team, and coach have proliferated in business discussions. This article explains more about the anatomy of teams and teamwork. I think you will find it insightful and quite detailed.

It explains the team and its dynamics (many members change over time) and how individual and team goals change over time. Team diversity is an important factor in interpreting team goals and context.If your team is geographically diverse, as well, differences in the availability of certain resources can be challenging.

The need for a system, goal articulation (why), a shared mindset and strong leadership (coaching) are all important elements in the success of your business team. I am associated with a company that has understood the concept of team work for over 30 years. It has made my activities more effective and much more profitable.

For Moms (or Grandmas and Memes) who want to work from the luxury of their own homes so they can be there more for their children, grandchildren and families, this might be something worth a peek.

People will often cut back on their sleep for work, for family demands, or even to watch a good show on television. But if not getting enough sleep is a regular part of your routine, you may be at an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and stroke, poor mental health, and even early death. Even one night of short sleep can affect you the next day. Not surprisingly, you’re more likely to feel sleepy. On top of that, you’re more likely to be in a bad mood, be less productive at work, and to be involved in a motor vehicle crash.

Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning.

Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, which is neither too hot or too cold.

Make sure your bed is comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to music. Remove all TVs, computers, and other “gadgets” from the bedroom.

Essential oils such as lavender can have a calming, soothing and relaxing effect.

Proper rest has been linked to optimal immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions. But we live in a fast-paced world. Deadlines, multi-tasking, and worries can make getting the true rest you need difficult if not impossible. In fact a December 2013 Gallup® report found that 40% of adults are not getting the recommended amount of sleep each night.

Listening is a skill that helps us in so many areas of life, including the businesses we conduct from our own homes. Whether we have this luxury or not, all need to work on this. In communications education, it is taught that communication is the foundation of good business. When we work from home, it is just as important (maybe more ).